New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson says he chafed for several years at being branded the first openly gay bishop of the Anglican Church until he realized that he was wasting a pulpit from which he could advocate for equality.

A Maryland Episcopal parish will be the first in the United States to join the Roman Catholic Church under a new streamlined conversion process created by Pope Benedict XVI, leaders of both church groups said Monday.

Anglican bishops on both sides of the issue of gay clergy have come together to discuss the issue, while a Presbyterian church trial has cleared a gay pastor who married his same-sex spouse in California in 2008.

Five Church of England bishops announced Monday they are converting to Catholicism following an invitation to disaffected Anglicans from Pope Benedict XVI - the highest-profile defectors among conservatives opposed to gay bishops and female clergy.